Repainting of Epcot Central Plaza?

sshindel

sshindel

The Epcot Manifesto
Soarin' Over Pgh said:
Wow! That is amazing. I really would have enjoyed seeing that at Epcot, it's a shame it was never added.

Thank you, @The Empress Lilly !!
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I'm not sure if it's accurate, I've always thought that the Africa pavilion is what probably eventually turned into the start of DAK. IMO, it would have been odd to add "Africa" when that is a continent, not a country. A diverse continent at that.
Now, if they want to go all crazy and take one of the expansion slots and add an Egypt pavilion? I'm all for it. Well, being 100% honest, I'm against any dollars being spent at Epcot that are not involved in fixing Future World, so I'd be behind the idea of a new WS pavilion, but I'd be gnashing my teeth at them all the same, unless it was done after a massive redo of Future World.
 
Cmdr_Crimson

Cmdr_Crimson

Well-Known Member
sshindel said:
I'm not sure if it's accurate, I've always thought that the Africa pavilion is what probably eventually turned into the start of DAK. IMO, it would have been odd to add "Africa" when that is a continent, not a country. A diverse continent at that.
Now, if they want to go all crazy and take one of the expansion slots and add an Egypt pavilion? I'm all for it. Well, being 100% honest, I'm against any dollars being spent at Epcot that are not involved in fixing Future World, so I'd be behind the idea of a new WS pavilion, but I'd be gnashing my teeth at them all the same, unless it was done after a massive redo of Future World.
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Disney & More has a good article and more pictures of the pavillion. http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2014/02/epcot-equatorial-africa-pavilion-world_18.html
tumblr_mrlbs9zccP1rqqcizo3_1280.jpg~original
 
Soarin' Over Pgh

Soarin' Over Pgh

Well-Known Member
sshindel said:
I'm not sure if it's accurate, I've always thought that the Africa pavilion is what probably eventually turned into the start of DAK. IMO, it would have been odd to add "Africa" when that is a continent, not a country. A diverse continent at that.
Now, if they want to go all crazy and take one of the expansion slots and add an Egypt pavilion? I'm all for it. Well, being 100% honest, I'm against any dollars being spent at Epcot that are not involved in fixing Future World, so I'd be behind the idea of a new WS pavilion, but I'd be gnashing my teeth at them all the same, unless it was done after a massive redo of Future World.
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Agreed. FW is so bleak, I'd rather not think of the future at all.
 
MarkTwain

MarkTwain

Well-Known Member
sshindel said:
I'm not sure if it's accurate, I've always thought that the Africa pavilion is what probably eventually turned into the start of DAK. IMO, it would have been odd to add "Africa" when that is a continent, not a country. A diverse continent at that.
Now, if they want to go all crazy and take one of the expansion slots and add an Egypt pavilion? I'm all for it. Well, being 100% honest, I'm against any dollars being spent at Epcot that are not involved in fixing Future World, so I'd be behind the idea of a new WS pavilion, but I'd be gnashing my teeth at them all the same, unless it was done after a massive redo of Future World.
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Same, I'm kind of glad it was never built. :oops: I recognize I'm in the minority, but IMO Africa (as a continent) would have been a strange fit among all of the World Showcase countries. It also would have been the only pavilion focused on nature among an area themed to culture, and the area would have been too small to accurately depict the huge diversity and scale of Africa anyway. I'll take DAK any day, personally.

I'd love an Egyptian pavilion but I'd doubt it as a real possibility with Egypt's current political affairs.
 
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ToTBellHop

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
note2001 said:
That would have been so much better than the outpost they put there. But then, which country would have been the sponsor for it, and would Disney have been able to count on them sponsoring it for the long run?
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"We spent a lot of time talking about Africa, as we should. Africa is a nation that suffers from incredible disease." --George W. Bush, Gothenburg, Sweden, June 14, 2001
 
note2001

note2001

Well-Known Member
willtravel said:
How many are sponsored now? Just wondering.
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Take this with a grain, or pound, of salt (wiki, where anyone can change the facts):

The only pavilion that is directly sponsored by the government of its respective country is Morocco, the remaining pavilions are primarily sponsored by private companies with affiliations to the represented countries. Pavilions for Russia, Switzerland, Spain, Venezuela, United Arab Emirates, and Israel have occasionally been rumored as potential future pavilions but have never made it past the planning phases to date. A small African themed refreshment shop known as The Outpost currently resides in the last remaining vacant undeveloped parcel that may potentially one day be developed into a new pavilion area.
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- source

I'm fairly positive that the teaser booklet that was mailed home to us before EPCOT was opened stated that each pavilion being developed was sponsored by the representative country.
 
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lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
MarkTwain said:
Same, I'm kind of glad it was never built. :oops: I recognize I'm in the minority, but IMO Africa (as a continent) would have been a strange fit among all of the World Showcase countries. It also would have been the only pavilion focused on nature among an area themed to culture, and the area would have been too small to accurately depict the huge diversity and scale of Africa anyway. I'll take DAK any day, personally.

I'd love an Egyptian pavilion but I'd doubt it as a real possibility with Egypt's current political affairs.
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I think the Equatorial Africa pavilion reflected geopolitical realities of the 1970s while still trying to make World Showcase more inclusive and diverse. It also was not the only regional pavilion proposed. For a time what is now the Norway Pavilion was to be a Scandanavia Pavilion. Even the country level can be insufficient in its portrayal. The Germany Pavilion is very Bavarian and the Italy Pavilion is very Venetian (complete off topic: what would happen to the Italy Pavilion if Veneto did gain independence?).
 
FerretAfros

FerretAfros

Well-Known Member
lazyboy97o said:
I think the Equatorial Africa pavilion reflected geopolitical realities of the 1970s while still trying to make World Showcase more inclusive and diverse. It also was not the only regional pavilion proposed. For a time what is now the Norway Pavilion was to be a Scandanavia Pavilion. Even the country level can be insufficient in its portrayal. The Germany Pavilion is very Bavarian and the Italy Pavilion is very Venetian (complete off topic: what would happen to the Italy Pavilion if Veneto did gain independence?).
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They would probably do the same thing that the UK pavilion would if Scotland gained independence: nothing.

Keep in mind that when World Showcase opened, there were 2 Germanys, divided by an Iron Curtain. Yet the pavilion in the theme park has always been just "Germany" ever since the earliest planning stages. Just like how other parks create a stylized version of a real place (Hollywood, the old West, etc), WS portrays an idealized version of the various countries
 
jdmdisney99

jdmdisney99

Well-Known Member
lazyboy97o said:
I think the Equatorial Africa pavilion reflected geopolitical realities of the 1970s while still trying to make World Showcase more inclusive and diverse. It also was not the only regional pavilion proposed. For a time what is now the Norway Pavilion was to be a Scandanavia Pavilion. Even the country level can be insufficient in its portrayal. The Germany Pavilion is very Bavarian and the Italy Pavilion is very Venetian (complete off topic: what would happen to the Italy Pavilion if Veneto did gain independence?).
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And Norway really still is a Scandinavia. The culture really is found all around the region (specifically Sweden) and they sell other Scandinavian countries' merchandise like flags. At the time Equatorial Afrcia would have seemed completely normal.
 
Figments Friend

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
sshindel said:
Yesterday while digging around my old childhood home I found a few old WDW books that are like a treasure trove. One of them is "Walt Disney's Epcot Center: Creating the New World of Tomorrow" by Richard Beard, copyright in 1982. From what I can find online, it's the smaller of two versions of this book that was put out. It was written before Horizons was opened (it refers to it in future tense) and has a section set out describing the Africa Pavilion. It's spectacular.

Anyway, the reason I bring it up is because so many of the things that folks on here have been saying about the design of the plaza and of Communicore is spot on with what this book talks about.

As to the keeping it modern, here is an excerpt:
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I have had this very book since it*s original release.
A excellent source to seek out to really understand what the original intent was for many of the Pavilions ( both built and un-built ) as well as a amazing collection of photographs.
You literally watch the creation of the Park in just the photos alone...from ride/Attraction builds to architecture, to the major construction projects like SSE and WS as a whole.
Some glimpses into what could-have-been...such as Africa and the theatrical attraction originally planned for Japan.

The Seas, Horizons, and the Original Imagination Pavilion are all treated in interesting, pre-build/finished form.
Lots of early model shots and other gems.

Any serious fan of EPCOT Center from back in the day needs to get a copy of this for themselves if they do not already have it.
Highly recommended.
 

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